Meet Ane, the new intern at the Norwegian Embassy in Lilongwe

Ane Grindstad from Åsta, south of Rena, Norway, is the newest addition to the Norwegian Embassy in Lilongwe, starting mid-June 2017. She considers the internship as a unique opportunity to learn more about Norwegian foreign policy and the bilateral relationship between Norway and Malawi.

Currently, Ane is on her last year studying law at the University of Oslo. Ane’s ambition is to work either with or for individuals or vulnerable groups, and she aims to use her academic expertise to make judiciary and law services more accessible for common people. She is excited about the possibility of linking this ambition to an international context, and she is eager to learn more about how Malawi is governed and how people’s fundamental rights are safeguarded.

There are many reasons why Ane is looking forward to the internship at the embassy in Lilongwe. She highlights the opportunity to contribute in the wide specter of development projects the embassy is engaging in and she consider it as rewarding to get insight into aid and development cooperation at country level. In addition, Ane has noticed that the embassy issues Visas on behalf of 17 Schengen countries, which she underlines as an area of expertise where her academic background can be of use to the embassy.

Ane has spent two years of her studies in Swaziland. From her experiences during those years, Ane expects it to be challenging to live in a country where economic inequalities are evident.

Apart from learning more about development cooperation at country level, Ane is looking forward to get to know the people in Malawi, explore the nature and learn more about Malawi’s culture and at least some phrases of the national language Chichewa (Tiyeni!).